The Times and The Sunday Times and carefully selected third parties use cookies on this site to improve performance, for analytics and for advertising. By browsing this site you are agreeing to this. For more information see our Privacy and Cookie policy.

Accessibility Links

Witness anonymity: a slippery slope

Malcolm Swift, QC

June 27 2008, 5:08pm, The Times

The decision this week to halt a murder trial at the Old Bailey follows a ruling on June 19 by the House of Lords that granting anonymity to witnesses threatened with intimidation could render a trial unfair. An accused, they said, had a right to confront his accuser. The ruling came in the case of Iain Davis, who had been convicted in 2004 of a double murder of two men at a New Year’s Eve party in Hackney, East London. He can now seek to have his conviction quashed. Seven witnesses in the case had claimed to be in fear of their lives if it became known that they gave evidence against Davis. In this piece, Davis’s barrister argues that the law lords were right.